Young Boy Asks Obama if Famed Syrian Refugee Boy Can Be His ‘Brother’

As controversy about how to handle the crisis rages, a 6-year-old boy’s offer to become “brothers” with a Syrian refugee has moved many, including the president himself.

The Scarsdale, New York boy, identified only as Alex, saw the now-iconic images of a bloodied Syrian boy, Omran Dangneesh, sitting in the back of an ambulance after an airstrike in August.

Alex took it upon himself to write a letter asking President Obama to bring Dagneesh to his home. The boy offered that his family would “give him a family and he will be our brother.”

Alex’s letter goes on to explain how he and his sister would teach the boy English, help him adapt to American culture, and introduce him to other children.

The letter made its way to Obama, who was so moved that he shared the letter at this week’s Leader’s Summit on Refugees. A video of Alex reciting the letter was later posted to Obama’s Facebook page, with a caption from the president.

Obama’s remarks read in part, “Those are the words of a six-year-old boy — a young child who has not learned to be cynical or suspicious or fearful of other people because of where they come from, how they look, or how they pray. We should all be more like Alex. Imagine what the world would look like if we were. Imagine the suffering we could ease and the lives we could save.”